Darrell Davis: Welcome to the younger, faster NHL

Auston Matthews and Connor McDavid back-to-back. Can it get better than that for the NHL?

There are so many great young stars in the league, starting with Matthews in Toronto and McDavid in Edmonton, who displayed their considerable talents on opening night. There’s Jack Eichel in Buffalo, after his sprained ankle heals. As well as Patrick Laine in Winnipeg and Nate McKinnon in Colorado.

They’re everywhere. And they’re bumping out the older, more expensive players. It’s sad to see heart-and-soul veteran players like Brooks Laich and Jarret Stoll, a couple of Saskatchewan natives, getting pushed out of the NHL. But it’s apparently the way the league is going — younger, cheaper and faster.

It’s admittedly early in the NHL season, but so far the games have been high-scoring. Speed and offences are dominating. The coaches won’t like that. They’ll try to slow down the games and make their players focus more on defence. Let’s hope the kids don’t listen, for the good of the game.